He comes from New England and has brought respectability back to a dormant Denver sports franchise. He is the coach of a team some people said would finish last in its division but has made it the talk of the league with a great start.

Josh McDaniels, say hello to Joe Sacco, your new competition for “Hotshot new coach in the Mile High City.”

“I haven’t met him, but I know he’s doing a pretty nice job with his team,” Sacco said of McDaniels, the Broncos’ coach. “I wasn’t too happy when they beat the Patriots, but I’m happy for him.”

Both first-year coaches are credited for more clearly defining their players’ roles and developing an atmosphere of accountability. While Sacco’s predecessor, Tony Granato, was well-liked by his players, privately there was some sentiment within the organization that he treated players differently and he wasn’t demanding enough of everybody. One thing Avalanche players say about Sacco is that he has the same standard for everybody.

“He holds guys accountable,” Avs captain Adam Foote said. “There aren’t any gray areas about what he wants from us and expects. But at the same time, he isn’t just screaming at us or maybe being unfair. I’d say what I’ve noticed so far is he’s tough, but fair.”

Sacco, 40, has always demanded a full day’s work, most of all from himself. Sacco, along with brother David, played together at Boston University. Of the two brothers who grew up under the Medford, Mass., roof of Joe Sr. and Maria Sacco, older brother Joe was the “serious” one.

“He was pretty touted coming out of high school as a player, but he learned early on in college, and then the NHL, that he had to be a guy who worked for his supper, so to speak,” said David Sacco, who played 35 games in the NHL, including a few with Joe for Anaheim in 1995-96. “He learned there are no shortcuts in the NHL, and he went on to have a really terrific career for himself.”

The brothers played for legendary coach Jack Parker at Boston University, known for a relentlessly demanding style. Parker said he thought Sacco might turn to coaching after he was done playing for him in 1990.

“He was a quiet and serious guy who really thought a lot about the game,” Parker said. “He was never a guy I had to worry about being focused and ready to play.”

Sacco, whose 10-3-2 team leads the NHL’s Western Conference in points entering tonight’s game against Phoenix, has shown no shyness in benching players he feels aren’t getting the job done, no matter their salary. Wojtek Wolski is tied for the Avs’ scoring lead, but Sacco has benched him for most of the third period in two games. He dropped Marek Svatos from the second line to the third line Sunday at Vancouver, and he hasn’t lapsed into politically correct answers about players who aren’t performing, as other Avs coaches have done. The bottom line, Sacco said, is that it’s up to the players to determine how much they will succeed or fail.

“Coaches don’t deserve the credit for what’s going on. I’m a big believer that it’s the players out there that are doing the job,” Sacco said. “We just provide the structure and some direction for the players, so that when they go on the ice, whether for games or practices, that they’re prepared, that they know what they’re doing, and go out there and execute it. The players are the ones that deserve the credit right now.”

Said Avs veteran Brian Willsie, who also played for Sacco at Lake Erie in the AHL: “He has you so well prepared every game. He reads the game, and whoever is going that night and is going to help the team win in the third period, that’s who goes. Some coaches do it differently, but he reads the guys who are going (well) each night.”

Whether it’s been a win or a loss, Sacco has had the same demeanor after games: austere, his voice rarely wavering in decibel level.

At the rink, Sacco is all business. At home, he spends plenty of time watching games across the league, “when my wife isn’t looking,” he said.

But he’s not a coach who is all hockey, all the time. He has a wife and three young children, and he has one rule after a game: Don’t overreact.

“It’s very easy at first to get caught up in the trap of taking the game home with you, but after a game I try to let things settle down and wait until the next morning before you react,” Sacco said. “I think you react differently than you would have that night.”

The amazing start of his NHL coaching career might inspire sweet dreams for Avs fans. He’s more cautious.

“It’s early,” Sacco said. “There’s a long way to go. We’ve gotten off to a pretty good start, but we can always be better.”

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.